Seeking Demon Traces in the Depths of the Void, the Severed Arm Stirs and Reveals Heaven's Secrets

After leaving the Netherworld Underworld and returning to the world of the living, Tongtian couldn't shake the eerie howls from the edge of the Land of Reincarnation or the "perfectly timed" Buddha Light from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. They hung over his heart like a pall. Was there some hidden connection between the Western Teachings and the Outer Realm Demon Gods? Had Ksitigarbha been exorcising a demon—or silencing a witness? Doubts gnawed at his judgment like venomous snakes.

Before he could think it through, a faint yet piercing alarm suddenly rang deep within his Nascent Soul. It wasn't coming from the system, but from his absolute control over the Chaos Bead! Inside the bead, the Demon God Severed Arm—sealed beneath layer upon layer of Chaos Qi—was shuddering violently. A surge of dark demonic energy, far more violent and pure than before, was battering against the seals!

Even more unsettling, the demonic energy wasn't lashing out at random. The rhythm and force of its attacks seemed to resonate with a summons from the unfathomable depths of the distant void! It was as if an invisible thread had pierced through layer upon layer of spatial barriers, linking the severed arm to its main body—or perhaps to the world from which it had come!

"Not good!" Tongtian's expression changed. He hadn't expected the remnant of this Demon God to be so active, or its senses so keen! That wisp of demonic energy at the Land of Reincarnation had likely been more than a glimpse into the world. It had been a signal, a set of coordinates that had stirred the severed arm and suddenly strengthened its connection to its origin!

He had to deal with it at once! If the severed arm broke through the seal, or kept sending out its coordinates, it would be like lighting a beacon in the Primordial World to guide the Outer Realm Demon Gods straight to it!

"Master?" Yun Xiao noticed the violent fluctuation in Tongtian's aura and asked with concern.

"The Demon God's severed arm is acting up!" Tongtian spoke rapidly, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding mountains and rivers. "We must find an absolutely secluded place and refine it or cut it off completely! We can't stay here!"

He sensed that the severed arm's disturbance had also stirred several powerful Saint's Wills in the unseen depths. Once again, they swept across the Primordial World like a web! Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning, the Two Saints of the West... They couldn't pinpoint the source, but they must have noticed the unusual mix of Chaos fluctuations and that repulsive Otherworld Aura!

Pursuers were on their way!

Without hesitation, Tongtian poured his power into the Chaos Bead. Misty gray currents enveloped the group and Kui Niu, distorting the light and obscuring the heavenly secrets. They fled in the opposite direction from Golden Ao Island in the East Sea—toward the desolate, perilous depths of Northern Julu Continent, where baleful energy surged into the sky! It was a notorious place of chaos in the Primordial World, crawling with Demonic Beasts and plagued by a hostile environment. Even a Saint's Will would be severely hindered in its search there.

After racing through countless barren mountains and treacherous rivers and avoiding several Forbidden Zones left behind from ancient times, Tongtian chose a vast lava lake deep beneath the earth, where an undying poisonous fire had burned for ages and chaotic magnetic fields filled the air. They would use it as a temporary refuge. The violent fire energy and turbid earthly aura perfectly concealed all their traces.

"Wudang, Yun Xiao, lay the 'Chaos Maze Formation' and 'Nine Nether God Corroding Forbidden' around the perimeter. Conceal this place's aura with everything you have! Qiongxiao, Bixiao, guard the four directions! Kui Niu, watch the entrance!" Tongtian gave his orders swiftly, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, Master!" The group knew how urgent the situation was and immediately obeyed.

Tongtian sat cross-legged on a huge black crag in the middle of the roiling lava lake. He held his hands out before him, and the Demon God Severed Arm, still wrapped in Chaos Qi and thrashing wildly, floated before him. Dark purple scales glimmered faintly on the arm. The phantom of its single eye flickered in and out as it let out a silent roar, radiating a hunger that made the Nascent Soul tremble.

"Wretched beast! You still dare to make trouble at a time like this!" Tongtian's gaze turned icy. The Chaos Bead rotated slowly above his head, pouring down an even denser torrent of Chaos Origin Qi. Like a millstone, it began crushing and refining the Demon God's lingering will and blood essence within the severed arm.

"Roar!" A violent, chaotic mental assault burst from the arm, trying to invade Tongtian's sea of consciousness. The One-Eyed Demon God's phantom grew more solid, opening its huge, fang-filled maw and lunging at him!

"Hmph! You're nothing but a remnant, yet you dare to act so viciously? Chaos Soul Devour!" Tongtian activated his Chaos Dao Fruit. The Misty Grey divine sense in his sea of consciousness formed countless sharp swords and charged forward, locking in battle with the Demon God Remnant. At the same time, the Chaos Qi surrounding the severed arm became billions of tiny files, furiously wearing down its scales and flesh, forcibly stripping away and refining its demonic energy.

It was a perilous process. The Demon God's will was extraordinarily tenacious, and its demonic energy was corrosive and contaminating. One careless move, and it could turn on him. Tongtian focused completely, bringing himself to peak condition. His Primordial Unity Magic Power surged without pause as he fought the Otherworld Demon God in a silent yet deadly struggle.

Time passed amid the fierce clash. Outside the lava lake, the formations laid by Wudang and Yun Xiao shimmered, cutting the area off completely from the outside world. Qiongxiao and Bixiao stood guard, tense and watchful, while Kui Niu's eyes bulged as hot white vapor hissed from his nostrils. He stayed alert to the slightest disturbance.

Gradually, the Demon God Severed Arm's thrashing weakened. The scales on its surface lost their luster, and the phantom of its single eye began to fade. In the end, the pure Chaos Origin prevailed. It slowly transformed the dark demonic energy into the most primordial Chaos Energy, feeding it back to itself.

But just as Tongtian thought he was about to finish the job, another change occurred!

At the last moment, the Demon God Remnant, on the verge of being completely refined, didn't choose to self-destruct. Instead, it gathered the last of its strength into an extremely subtle streak of dark light containing precise spatial coordinates. It tried to break through the Chaos seal and shoot into the depths of the void!

Before it vanished completely, it meant to send back the precise coordinates of the Primordial World, along with word of Tongtian's existence as a "threat"!

"Don't even think about it!" How could Tongtian let it succeed? He had been ready for this. With a thought, the Chaos Bead slammed down, and a tiny Chaos Vortex within it unleashed a terrifying pull. Like a black hole, it instantly swallowed the streak of dark light containing the coordinates!

Pff! Like a bubble bursting, the Demon God Remnant vanished completely. The severed arm finally stopped struggling, turning into a mass of pure, will-less dark purple energy wrapped in Chaos Qi.

The immediate crisis had passed. Tongtian let out a small sigh of relief, sweat beading on his forehead. But his expression didn't relax; it grew even more solemn. By refining the severed arm—and from the coordinates it had tried to send out at the end—he had gleaned several crucial fragments of information!

The coordinates pointed not into the trackless Chaos, but toward an extremely distant, relatively "fixed" location! More importantly, the remnant had given him the impression of a "vanguard" or "pathfinder." The One-Eyed Demon God hadn't been a main force from the Otherworld. It seemed to be a member of an advance scouting party!

And the destination of its signal seemed to point toward a "shadow" moving through the Chaos, steadily drawing closer to the Primordial World. The aura it gave off was vast, chaotic, and filled with endless hunger. It was millions of times more powerful than the One-Eyed Demon God!

"System, analyze the spatial coordinates and Memory Fragments I just obtained!" Tongtian called out inwardly.

[Analyzing... Target coordinates locked. Energy level assessment: The coordinates point to an interdimensional space bubble rapidly approaching the Primordial World. Based on its trajectory and speed, the estimated time for its vanguard to reach the chaotic region surrounding the Primordial World has been reduced to within eight hundred years! Warning: Multiple powerful lifeforms detected within the space bubble. Their energy levels have all reached Quasi-Saint or higher!]

Eight hundred years! Tongtian's heart sank. They had less time than even his worst estimate! And the enemy wasn't a ragtag band. It was a well-organized Vanguard Fortress, with Quasi-Saint-level powerhouses among its ranks!

He had to find this "space bubble" as soon as possible. Before it reached the Primordial World, he needed to disrupt it, damage it, or at the very least learn what was inside! Waiting for the enemy to come to them would leave them far too passive!

He opened his eyes, Chaos light blazing in them, and made a bold decision.

"Wudang, Yun Xiao, remove the outer formations."

"Master?" The others looked at him in confusion.

"We're not going to Golden Ao Island," Tongtian said, rising to his feet and staring at the space above the lava lake. It was as if he could see through layers of rock and into the boundless Chaos Void. "We're going to strike first. We'll head into the Chaos and find that approaching 'nail'!"

He would rely on the Chaos Bead's ability to sense Otherworld Aura, along with the coordinates he had just obtained, to enter the Chaos and seek out the Otherworld's Vanguard Fortress! Tongtian had no other choice. Passive defense meant certain death. Only by striking first could he fight for a chance to survive!

"Master, we're coming with you!" The three of Sanxiao replied in unison without hesitation, their gazes resolute. Wudang and Kui Niu nodded firmly as well.

Seeing the trust and determination in his disciples' eyes, Tongtian felt a swell of warmth. He nodded without another word and poured all his power into the Chaos Bead.

The Chaos Bead hummed and blazed with light. A more concentrated pillar of gray light shot skyward—not breaking through space, but opening a relatively stable Temporary Channel above them that led straight into the Chaos Void! Beyond it lay a world of strange, ever-changing colors, filled with the unknown.

"Go!" Tongtian ordered, stepping into the channel first. Wudang, the three of Sanxiao, and Kui Niu followed close behind.

The moment they vanished into the channel, several powerful Saint's Wills swept across the lava lake. They caught only a fading ripple in space and the chaotic aura of the Chaos.

Inside Jade Void Palace, Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning gave a cold snort. "He escaped again! It seems he's set on hiding in the Chaos."

At Western Spirit Mountain, Daoist Zhunti's eyes gleamed. "In the Chaos, Tongtian, what exactly are you plotting? And what is that repulsive Otherworld Aura?"